Field Events Push Gladstone Back To No. 1
By
John Vrancic
Special for MHSAA.com
June 2, 2013
KINGSFORD — The grandstand was nearly full at Kingsford's Flivver Field on Saturday. But probably not many people witnessed the work in the field events by the Gladstone boys during the Upper Peninsula Division 1 Track and Field Finals.
Gladstone, which scored 69 points in the field events, finished with 112 for its seventh U.P. championship in 10 years.
The Braves were followed by Menominee 80, Kingsford 73 and three-time defending champ Marquette 61.
"I couldn't be more proud of these kids," said Gladstone athletic director/assistant coach Matt Houle. "They were prepared, confident and ready to go. All the kids stepped up in the field events. We had to dominate those to win the meet. We took control in the field, and the guys in the running events took care of business."
Houle filled in for head coach Gary Whitmer, who suffered a broken sternum in an automobile accident Friday morning.
Senior Jared Vuksan set the U.P. D-1 shot put record at 55 feet, 11¼ inches, topping the previous best (52-1/2) by Braves' now-volunteer assistant coach Kent King three years ago.
Vuksan, who will play football at Northern Michigan University this fall, also won discus in a school--record toss of 153-2¾, placed fourth in long jump (18-4) and helped the Braves take third in the 400-meter relay.
"My release was a lot better today in disc," Vuksan said. "I evened out my throw, and the disc came out flatter.
"I got the U.P. record in shot on my last throw. I stayed low and my footwork was good. My first throw was 50-5 and I think that set the tone. I really got pumped for the last throw. That was a great way to finish."
Classmate Justin Pederson added firsts in high jump (6-3) and long jump (21-½) and was runner-up in the 100-meter dash in 11.31 seconds.
Kingsford junior Cole Tengesdahl won the 100 (11.26).
"I'm a little disappointed in my 100, although I have to take my hat off to Cole," said Pederson, who plans to run track at Michigan State as a walk-on next year. "In high jump, everyone went out after six feet and I kept going. There was a lot of pressure, but I seem to do better in that situation. After I cleared 6-3, I went up to 6-5 and nicked the bar on my way down.
"My goal in long jump was just to break 21. I just tried to stay consistent."
Junior Chris Sedenquist added a victory in the 400 at 51.39.
Menominee had a triple-winner in senior Bryan Hines, who took the 110 hurdles (15.96) and 300 (41.59) and helped the winning 400 relay.
Sault Ste. Marie freshman Parker Scott, hindered by a foot injury much of this season, won the 800 (2:00.9) and 1,600 (4:31.98). He was the U.P. cross country champion in his division last fall.
PHOTOS: (Top) Gladstone senior Justin Pederson completes a high jump on the way to finishing first with a leap of 6-3. (Middle) The Braves' Jared Vuksan added a fourth place in long jump to his championships in the discus and shot put. (Photos by Eric Thompson; click to see more Gladstone photos at www.ericthompson.smugmug.com.)
Preview: Team Title Races Could Highlight UP Boys Track & Field Finals
By
Geoff Kimmerly
MHSAA.com senior editor
May 31, 2024
We’re guaranteed at least one new team champion at Saturday’s Upper Peninsula Boys Track & Field Finals, and that may be just the start of changes at the top of the podium to conclude this season.
All three team title races appear to have multiple strong contenders, and Division 2 especially will require frequent score updates as reigning champion Pickford is likely to receive a strong challenge from Munising, which won Division 3 a year ago but is competing in Division 2 this weekend.
We’re guaranteed at least one new team champion at Saturday’s Upper Peninsula Boys Track & Field Finals, and that may be just the start of changes at the top of the podium to conclude this season.
All three team title races appear to have multiple strong contenders, and Division 2 especially will require frequent score updates as reigning champion Pickford is likely to receive a strong challenge from Munising, which won Division 3 a year ago but is competing in Division 2 this weekend.
All three divisions will again be contested at Kingsford High School, with preliminaries leading off the day at 9 a.m. local (Central) time. Tickets cost $11 and are available digitally only via GoFan.
MHSAA.tv will live-stream the meets beginning at 9 a.m. (CDT)/10 a.m. (EDT), viewable with subscription. Check out the Boys Track & Field page for meet information and lists of all qualifiers. Those described as "seeded" below have received those seeds based on Regional performances.
Following is a glance at team contenders and individuals to watch in all three divisions:
Division 1
Team forecast: Marquette has won the last three championships and Kingsford has finished runner-up the last two seasons, last year separated by 20 points and Marquette prevailing by just one point in 2022. Sault Ste. Marie might be the strongest challenger for the Sentinels this time, able to mix contenders in sprints and challengers in the distance events where Marquette often stacks points.
Darrent Butler, Menominee sophomore: He gave Menominee its third-straight Division 1 high jump champion last season and could run the streak to four as the top seed with a jump (6-2) three inches higher than his winner last year.
Wyatt Demers, Manistique senior: He won the 100 in Division 2 last season and was on a relay champ as a sophomore, and will run the 100, 200 and on the top-seeded 1,600 relay (3:40.97) this weekend.
Michael Floriano, Kingsford senior: He won the 200 as a sophomore and the 100 last spring while also finishing second in the 200 and running on the championship 800 relay and runner-up 400 relay. He’s seeded second in the 200 (23.90), third in the 100 (11.59) and will run again on two relays.
Noah Johnson, Kingsford senior: The reigning discus champion and shot put runner-up is seeded first in both throws at 165-9 and 49-5½, respectively, and also will compete in long jump.
Gabe Litzner, Sault St. Marie sophomore: Already a two-time UPD1 cross country champion, Litzner was second in the 3,200 and third in the 1,600 at his first Track Finals and is seeded first in both this weekend at 9:45.65 and 4:33, respectively.
Rayce Rizzo, Sault Ste. Marie senior: The reigning pole vault champion enters Saturday as the top seed (13-6) and also will compete in long jump.
Ryver Ryckeghem, Sault Ste. Marie senior: He’s surged as a senior and enters the weekend as the top seed in the 100 (11.47) and 200 (23.77) and running on the 800 relay.
Garrett Veale, Kingsford senior: He won the shot put as a junior and is the second seed to teammate Johnson in that throw (45-11) and also among contenders in discus.
Division 2
Team forecast: Pickford won Division 3 in 2022 and then moved into Division 2 last year and claimed a second-straight team title by a commanding margin. Last year’s runner-up Manistique is in Division 1 this season, but 2023 Division 3 champ Munising is in Division 2 this time and could be the strongest challenger to a Pickford lineup that still has contenders across several events.
Matthew Colavecchi, Iron Mountain senior: After winning the 100 and 200 dashes and running on two championship relays in Division 2 as a sophomore, he finished third in the 100 in Division 1 last spring. He returns to Division 2 as the top seed in the 100 (11.51), 200 (23.87) and long jump (18-9½) and running on the top-seeded 400 relay (45.87).
Dan Goss, Munising junior: He could make a big jump after finishing third in the 3,200 and sixth in the 1,600 in Division 3 last year, entering this weekend seeded first in Division 2 in the 800 (2:08.24), 1,600 (4:43.65) and 3,200 (10:58.55).
Hayden Hagen, Pickford senior: Last season’s champ in the 800, 1,600 and 3,200, and part of the runner-up in the 3,200 relay, Hagen is seeded third in the 400, second to Goss in the 800 (2:09.67) and 1,600 (4:47.88), and fifth in the 3,200.
Joe Kelley, Munising senior: He ran both hurdles races and on a fourth-place relay in Division 3 last season, but this time he’s the Division 2 top seed in the 110 (16.25) and 300 hurdles (41.92) and will run on the top-seeded 1,600 relay (3:46.98) and second-seeded 400 relay (46.90).
Brayden Martin, Ishpeming senior: The reigning discus champion and fourth-place finisher in the shot put, Martin is the second seed in the shot put (40-8) and third in the discus (111-8).
Division 3
Team forecast: The last two Division 3 team champions are competing in Division 2 this season, but 2023 runner-up Newberry was only 22.5 points off Munising’s pace last year and might be the favorite this time. St. Ignace also is back in Division 3 after finishing fourth in Division 2 last season and has a couple of potential high scorers in the mix.
Chris Hopson, Newberry senior: He won the 300 hurdles as a junior and will run that race and as part of the 1,600 relay.
Jonny Ingalls, St. Ignace senior: The Saints’ basketball star is the top seed this weekend in the 110 hurdles (16.85) and 300 hurdles (43.74) and running on the top-seeded 1,600 relay (3:48.07) and second-seeded 400 relay (46.30).
Matthew Jokela, Lake Linden-Hubbell senior: He’s expected to contribute significantly coming off fourth places last season in the 200 and 400 and this time seeded first in both at 23.85 and 52.17 seconds, respectively, plus third in the 100 and running on the second-seeded 800 relay.
Kalvin Kytta, Chassell junior: Last year’s 3,200 champ and 1,600 third-place finisher is seeded first in the 800 (2:08.80), 1,600 (4:45.47) and 3,200 (11:00.34).
Owen Lester, St. Ignace senior: He won the pole vault in Division 2 last season and is tied for the top seed in that event (11-6) and will run on three top-three relays including the favored 1,600 with Ingalls.
Matthew Rahilly, Newberry junior: He won long jump, was runner-up in high jump and ran on the winning 800 and runner-up 400 relays as a sophomore. He enters this time top-seeded in the long jump (19-4), tied for the top seed in the high jump (5-10) and running on the top-seeded 800 relay (1:37.81) and third-seeded 400 relay.
PHOTO Kingsford's Michael Floriano, center, edges Marquette's Jacob MacPhee in the 100 dash May 10 in Negaunee. (Photo by Cara Kamps.)